But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…
It is the reality of human life that our powers diminish with age; the energy we had in our younger days fail us when we get older.
We have bursts of energy yet they grow shorter and shorter as time progresses. Things we used to do almost without effort before become difficult, until we finally cannot do them at all.
Even if it is not age that depletes our strength, the vicissitudes of life wear us down, and discouragement sets in. Life “happens” to us in varied degrees of intensity, and even if it is peppered with periods of tranquility and joy, we find ourselves lacking the exuberance and confidence we once had. Disillusionment takes the edge off of life and we wonder where all our zest for life went.
Chippie
The following is a true story from an unknown source concerning a parakeet named Chippie:
“One second he was peacefully perched in his cage singing the day away. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.
“The problems began when Chippie’s owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage – with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She’s barely said, ‘hallo’ when ‘ssssopp’ Chippie got sucked in. The vacuum made that high loud squeal, like it only does when no air can get to the fan.
“The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, looked over and her heart sank – no Chippie – she quickly turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. And there was chippie – still alive, but stunned.
“Since the bird was covered with dust and soot from the vacuum, she grabbed it and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water.
“Then, realizing Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do…she reached for the hair-dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.
“Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.
“A few days after the trauma, the reporter who’d initially written about the event contacted Chippie’s owner to see how the bird was recovering. ‘Well,’ she replied, ‘Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore – he just sits and stares.’ ”
Sometimes, life deals us blows over which we have no control. One moment we have a song in our heart and a spring to our step, the next we are sucked in, washed up, and blown over. We are stunned, and the song on our lips dies.
All we can do is sit and stare, wondering if we will ever regain our positive outlook on life. Like Chippie, the song we used to sing is silenced. Unlike Chippie, we can learn to sing again.
That is what it means to experience the renewal that comes from waiting on the LORD. He promises we will sing again if we will only learn to wait upon Him in that available, and dependent, state of being. He will renew our strength.
Gems of Discovery - Nuggets of Truth 